Lemon Cake

Chapter Forty-Three

She laughed out loud. "No."

"Cold burgers are disgusting." He declared as she peered at the bag of food on the table ahead of them that had his attention. "You want me to go get—" He stopped as if his brain was loading with information then said. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for your date?"

"No date." She said, pushing herself up off the floor. "We broke up. I mean if you can even call it that."

"What would you call it?" He asked, trailing her to the kitchen.

"Miscommunication." She yanked open the fridge, scanning the shelf for something to fill her up while she decided which eatery she was going to order delivery from. "He thought sex could morph into a relationship and I didn't have much time for it."

"Sex or a relationship?" He asked, sitting on the thawing bag of veggies on the island.

She turned around, the fruit and yogurt on the second shelf no longer calling out to her. "Both."

He nodded. "Because of Sidney or because of me." She frowned at him and he shook his head and clarified. "Of what I did."

"Both." She cleared her throat joining him at the island. "Austin was too young for me anyway. He was just meant for fun. We agreed on fun and then when Sidney came..." She went silent letting Al Green fill the space as she thought about when he asked her for more in their relationship. "He started competing with her; wanting more of my time, more of my emotions...more of me."

"More than you could give," Jasper said and she nodded. "What does happiness look like to you?"

The swiftness of the answer took her by surprise as it sat upon her tongue. She leveled her eyes with his as the images of what happiness would've been if they were still the same people they were ten years ago. But they were no longer those people and the things she wanted at nineteen weren't the same as she stood there at the big age of twenty-nine.

"I'd be happy to just be Sidney's mom." A stream of tears rolled down her face thinking of the things she lost and the hopes and desires that filled her.

He smoothed away the tears with his thumb and held her face. "You are and I'll do everything in my power to get you and her to believe it.

Her hand rested against his holding it in place. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." A smile grew upon his face juxtapositioning the bruiser on his eyes. "I want to take you home."

She abruptly blinked "What?"

"I want to show Sidney and you, my country house, the vineyard, and she wants a dog and a dog'll be great there." His cadence contemplated the smoothness of the music pouring from the speaker in the living room. "Is that something you think we can do?"

"Uh...um." Tulip pulled his hand off her face blinking as if she was trying to wake from a trance. "Uh...Fuck...this song." She strutted to her phone and quickly switched from her clean-up playlist to one of her hip-hop playlists.

"Meme!" Sidney shouted from the door and Tulip was ecstatic for the disruption. "I used my key!" She skipped into the room and headed right towards her. "I brought you something. I mean...not with my money because I'm broke but chocolate chip cookie dough."

Tulip took the colorful container with a big smile as she pulled Sidney into her side for a hug. "Thank you, sweet child."

"You're welcome." Sidney hugged her back.

"What about me?" Jasper asked.

"Uncle Will said you were lactose intolerant." She kept her arms around Tulip. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Jasper knitted his eyebrows at the man leaning against the door frame and was greeted with a smirk. "I didn't know I was."

"Tutu, can we talk?" Will asked. "Outside."

What do you think William wants to talk to her about? Will she also have some things to discuss with him?

Do you think Tulip accepts Jasper's invitation to his country house?

What do you think would've happened between Tulip and Jasper if she hadn't switched the song to an up-tempo tune?

Do you think Tulip was right in thinking that Austin was competing with Sidney?

How do you think 19-year-old Tulip is different from 29-year-old Tulip?